Safe
by LullabyDust
Summary: Fai meets Majo, a young girl who is much more than meets the eye. This IS a romance, even if you can't tell just yet :P Mostly this is just me practicing my writing skills, or lack thereof . Hopefully, you'll still enjoy!
1. Fai Meets Majo

DISCLAIMER: I own only bad ideas. Everything else (including Fai and Chii) belongs to CLAMP.

***

Fai walked along a crowded street, happily pretending to whistle a little tune. He was in a nice little marketplace, with vendors on either side advertising their wares to the throngs of people- everything from bells to paint to jewelry was set out on display for the world to see.

He was just walking, though, or at least that was the plan. He had no intent of buying anything today. Of course, even the best-laid plans can go awry, so he had brought a little pocket money with him, just in case.

A vendor to his right did end up catching his eye, although it was more the girl standing before it admiring a particularly elaborate necklace than the wares themselves. He strolled up to her.

"Why, hello there," he greeted her cheerily. The girl looked up at him and smiled so brightly she could have outshone the sun.

"Hi," she said. She seemed very happy, almost elated, even, to see him. It was infectious.

"My name's Fai, what's yours?"

"Majo."

"Oh?" said Fai. _How odd,_ he thought. "What an interesting name!"

Majo smiled and put the necklace back down on the cart. "I'm sorry," she told the vendor apologetically, "I don't think I could ever afford something as pretty as that."

"You want it? It's yours!" said the vendor enthusiastically. Majo's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"Sure!" he said with a smile. "You'd be surprised how rare it is to meet someone as friendly as you!"

"Oh- thank you so much!" she gushed, picking it up and admiring it again.

"Here, let me tie it for you," Fai offered. Majo smiled her thanks, and as Fai moved he slipped one gold coin across the table without her noticing. She lifted up her short brown hair and he quickly clasped the ends together, his fingers brushing against her neck. She stiffened at his touch, but only briefly. "There you go, all done," he said, leaning his weight on the table. Something cold and round lay underneath his palm- the coin he had tried to pay the vendor with. So the necklace really _was _meant to be free, after all.

When Fai looked up, Majo had already flounced a few steps ahead, and was now looking back at him, wondering if he was going to follow. He did so happily.

"If you don't mind my asking, why are you named Majo?" wondered Fai once he had treated them to an ice cream sundae. They sat down on the edge of a fountain that gurgled and sparkled brightly. Majo smiled.

"Names are what people call you, right?

"Well, that's one way of putting it, I suppose."

"People call me Majo."

"Interesting," said Fai. Far away, the giant bell tower in the center of the city struck six o'clock. "Oh, my! Is that really the time? I must be going."

"Already?" said Majo, disheartened.

"Afraid so," said Fai. Majo looked down at her lap, the epitoe of misery. "Oh, don't look so sad. I'll be right back here tomorrow, alright?"

Majo immediately brightened.

"Okay," she beamed. "Promise?"

Fai laughed. "I promise."

"Good," she said as he turned to leave, and he walked away, happily pretending to whistle a merry little tune.

***

~For those of you who are uninformed (including me until two hours ago), 'majo' is Japanese for 'witch', so the story literally reads, 'people call me witch', 'witch smiled', etc. Her full 'name' is Kokuzoku Majo, which translates into 'Traitor Witch'. Such lovely thoughts, eh?~


	2. A Rose by Any Other Name

Majo inspected a pear one of the vendors had given her, free-of-charge, curiously. She couldn't remember ever seeing one before, and she wondered what it tasted like. Just as she raised it to her lips to take a bite, she felt a tug, and she dropped the fruit in surprise and stood there, frozen.

It was not a physical sensation, nor one that many other than herself would have felt, but she had felt it before, and the same icy fear took hold of her heart.

"Are you alright, dear?"

Majo was halfway down the street before the stranger had even finished her sentence.

Fai strolled along with a casual air about him- he wasn't late just yet, and he made a habit of never rushing unless he was already decidedly overdue.

He did, however, take a shortcut, cutting through a network of clean back alleys and narrow streets. The whole area was almost like a maze, and the lowering sun cast a shadow halfway across the street, but if you knew your way around it was much faster.

Running footsteps echoed loudly on the pavement somewhere generally ahead of him, but he paid them no mind. The city children raced through here so often that it was more rare to _not_ run into one on your way through.

A girl rounded the corner ahead of him suddenly and, before he could move out of the way, slammed heavily into him and fell back.

"Majo-chan!" exclaimed Fai. "What a pleasant surprise." He looked closer and noted the expression of fear on her face. "What in the world is the matter?"

Majo couldn't answer, but tears streamed down her face and she clung to his legs tightly. Fai looked up. Silently, at least a dozen men clad entirely in black had appeared and crouched in various locations around the alley- on the roof, atop the light pole, and two or three stood directly in front of them. One had already drawn his katana and leveled it at them. Fai tilted his head to the side and smiled.

"Why, hello there," he greeted them. "Can I help you?"

"Move aside, or we will cut you down," the man said evenly.

"Oh, my. That's quite the threat. What happens if I do as you say?"

"That is none of your business."

A loud clap echoed in the narrow street when Fai set his staff on the ground firmly in front of them.

"I'm afraid I can't just hand her over without knowing what you plan to do with her."

"_Kokuzoku,"_ spat the man. Majo whimpered and buried her face in Fai's robe. "You will die with her!"

Fai whipped his staff around to block the sword of one of the men who jumped at him from above, then brought it down roughly on another's shoulder. With Majo still clinging to his legs, though, his movement was limited, and his usual evasive fighting style was useless.

Fai slammed his staff straight into the ground, gripping it firmly with both hands. A blindingly white light could be easily seen from above. It consumed them, and a few seconds later there was nothing left to indicate they had ever been there.

Fai leaned against a wall. Powerful magic like that could take a heavy toll, but the dizziness passed quickly and he straightened up, then looked down at Majo.

"Now, what was that all about?"

Majo finally released his legs, but she remained on her knees.

"I don't know," she whispered. Fai crouched down in front of her and peered at her curiously.

"Do you know who they are?"

Majo shook her head _no._

"Interesting." Fai frowned. "Do you have a safe place to stay the night?"

"No."

"Well, how about we change that?" said Fai. Majo looked up at him hopefully, and Fai considered her for a moment. "While we're changing things," he said slowly, "what about your name? 'Majo' isn't really a name, you know."

"People call me Kokuzoku Majo," said Majo matter-of-factly. Fai smiled.

"Yes, but that's got such a condemning sound to it, don't you think? How about… Nokosu?"

"Nokosu?" said Majo, trying the sound out on her tongue and deciding she rather liked it.

"Do you like that? It means 'safe'."

The newly-named-Nokosu giggled and nodded.

"Alright then, it's decided. Why don't we head home?"

He extended his hand to help her up, and she stared at it like a foreign object. She paused, then hesitantly reached out and took it. He pulled her up, and she followed him back to his home.

~'Nokosu' actually means 'save', as in, 'be sure to save your money for college', but I didn't like the alternatives, and I wanted her name to mean something important. I suppose I could have used a different language, but whatever… My artistic license!~


	3. Birds of a Feather

~This is, by far, my favorite chapter of not just this fanfiction, but of almost anything I've ever written. I really think this exemplifies some of my best work, even though there's no action or fighting ;) So if you have any constructive criticism to offer, please do so! I'd love to hear it.~

***

Nokosu woke up lying in a large bed with sheets as silky and smooth as satin. She usually woke up in a bed- an inn, sometimes, that the owner of had offered her free room and board for the night- but never anything as luxurious as this. She lay perfectly still for a moment, recalling shy she was there.

Someone somewhere- she remembered a face but not a name- had called it morning amnesia, joking that it was 'nature's way of keeping you from waking up screaming'.

_Daisuke-san,_ that was his name. She had stayed with him for almost a week before she had to leave. He had been the one to notice that she seemed to get morning amnesia _every_ morning.

She looked around her. The room was large and the decorations elegant, but kept to a minimum- as if the person designing it had wanted to keep to the current style without showing off. There was a cushioned bench at the foot of her bed, and she crawled toward it to find a plate of scrambled eggs and a sliced pear waiting for her.

The eggs were good, and she picked up a slice of the pear, considering it. She took a bit- it was mostly sugary, with just the tiniest hint of bittersweet laying underneath. She giggled, and couldn't help but smile while she ate it.

There was a wardrobe across the room from her, and she left her bed to explore its contents. A pair of fuzzy pink slippers waited for her next to the bed, so she put them on before crossing the floor.

The heavy mahogany door swung open noiselessly to reveal a myriad of dresses, each one as beautiful as the next and no color appearing more than once in the throng of cloth before her. She gasped, then looked down at her own clothes. She wore a deep purple nightgown with poufy short sleeves and a lace collar. It was pretty, but…

Nokosu pulled the thin garment over her head and grabbed the first dress her hand fell on- a full-length, lavender gown that crinkled at the top and had thick straps for sleeves. It fell gracefully over her body and clung lightly to her skin, so lightly that she could almost forget she was wearing it until the soft _swish_ of the cloth reminded her when she moved.

She giggled when she saw herself in the mirror and gave a little twirl just to see what it felt like. She looked so different- her face was the same, but the dress now showed off curves in her body she had never known she had.

A bird tapped at her window suddenly, and she crossed the room and opened it up. It hopped inside and let out a shrill chirp.

"Why, hello there, little friend," she said. The bird cocked its head to the side and stared at her curiously, its red feathers glimmering in the sunlight. "What's it like out there?" she asked him, holding out her finger for him to perch on. He chirped and hopped forward a few steps, but didn't take her offer. Nokosu peered outside. The city bustled about below them, and the sun sparkled higher in the sky than she thought it would be. It must have been noon already.

She glanced down at her finger to see that the bird had deemed it worthy, after all. She stroked its head and smiled, then withdrew back into her room.

***

Fai strolled contentedly down the halls with Chii trailing along after him. He had given up pretending to whistle and was now humming happily to himself. Despite the fact that the windows let in enough light to see by, each lamp automatically lit itself as Fai drew nearer, and put itself out when he drew far enough away.

The sound of a door opening and closing came behind them, and Fai spun around on one heel and walked back the way he came.

"Ah, Noko-rin! Glad to see you're awake. We were getting worried about you."

Nokosu smiled, and the robin perched on her shoulder twirped.

"Thank you for the clothes," she said. Fai smiled.

"That was Chii-kun's doing, actually," he said. "I'm afraid I have the most horrible fashion sense."

Nokosu giggled.

"Thank you," she said to the girl standing beside Fai. She wore a shorter dress that was the same color as hers, but with a lower neckline and sleeves that slipped off her shoulders to rest against her upper arms.

Fai was very modest, she thought, unless Chii picked out his clothes for him, too. She smiled at the thought.

"We were just on our way to the library," said Fai. "Would you like to come?"

Nokosu nodded and followed him happily as he turned around and continued down the hall.

She gasped when they reached the library. She couldn't remember ever seeing so many books. Even the room itself was larger than any she had ever been in before. She reached out to touch one of the shelves, but drew back. Everything was so neat and pristine; it felt like touching anything would ruin it all. She looked around her again, amazed.

Fai laughed at her awed expression.

"You're welcome to read anything you like," he told her. Nokosu hesitated.

"Really?" she said shyly, blushing.

"Sure," said Fai. "Go ahead!

Nokosu ran her hand along the spines of all the books until one caught her eye. She pulled it off the shelf and, opening the cover, began to read. She sat down on the floor to get more comfortable.

The story was about a prince in a faraway land. When he was born the king's seer predicted that nothing but sorrow would come to those close to him. The Queen refused to believe this and insisted he be treated as though the prediction had never been made. Two years later, though, she fell mysteriously ill and eventually died. The King did his best to keep his wife's wish, but when the prince turned twelve, his eldest brother and the heir to the throne also mysteriously passed away, and the King banished him from the land.

The prince spent many years wandering through other countries, never letting himself get close to anyone- until he met Rosaline. The second he saw her, he fell maddeningly in love, and after courting her for almost a year they married.

Soon after, though, Rosaline's father grew very ill. After suffering for many months, he suddenly died in the night. Rosaline was grief-stricken. She locked herself in her room and refused to eat, only coming out at night to wander the gardens he had grown for her.

One morning, while out to harvest food from the farmland, the prince came across her body lying in a pool of blood. She had stabbed herself through the heart. The prince threw himself across her body and wept, crying

"My mother, my brother, my father, my wife!

Curses on this curse I have- for them, I take my life."

Then he slid the dagger out of her body and thrust it into his own.

Nokosu had begun to cry long before the story was over. She closed the book quietly and hugged it to her chest. She had never read a story with such a sad ending before.

After a few moments she stood up and wandered around, looking for Fai. There was a large opening leading to a balcony outside, and she saw him there, leaning on the railing and looking out over the town. She approached him slowly, and he turned around when he heard her footsteps.

"Oh, there you are! I was just about to go look for you," he said, smiling. The bird on her shoulder fluttered its wings, and he peered at her closely. "Are you all right?"

Nokosu nodded, her cheeks still shiny with tears. Fai picked up the book from her hands and read the title. "It's a sad story, isn't it?"

She nodded again, and he handed it back to her. She seemed disheartened, though, looking down morosely at her feet. Fai lifted her chin up with his fingers and looked directly into her eyes.

"There's a lot to be said about sad stories," he said. "You just have to remember that's all they are. Just make-believe."

Her eyes were an unbelievably pure shade of blue, the same color as his own. They sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight. Now that they were only inches apart, he could even smell a hint of jasmine perfume.

He looked up at the sky suddenly, and Nokosu followed his gaze to see a huge flock of birds passing overhead. The robin fluttered its wings again antsily, chirped, and hopped back and forth on her shoulder. She held up her finger for him to hop on, then brought him up to eye level.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. He tweeted and swooped from her finger to the railing. He turned to face her, bobbing his head up and down. Fai laughed.

"It looks like he's bowing his thanks," he said.

The robin twirped one last time, flapped his wings and took off to join his brothers and sisters in the sky. He faded in quickly among the others and Nokosu sighed softly.

Suddenly, the entire flock of birds turned around and dove towards them. Before they could run inside they were surrounded by hundreds of birds flitting past them and circling around the balcony. Nokosu laughed with delight and spread out her arms. Fai did the same, taking hold of one of her hands.

The moment only lasted a few seconds, and then they all soared back into the air and flew into the distance, towards the setting sun. Fai looked at Nokosu, who practically glowed with happiness.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked her. Nokosu looked at him and nodded.

"As much as I love to read," he confided, "I've always found the real world to be much more interesting."

***

~The original plan was for this to eventually meet up with the actual series, but I'm not so sure that's going to happen anymore (although I'd still like it to). It might end up having nothing to do with _Tsubasa, _but whatever…~


	4. A Written Barrier

~Questions? Comments? Concerns? Constructive criticism? All are welcome!~

***

Nokosu wasn't used to waking up in the same place more than once.

This was an expectation that had been formed over years of travel, but one would still think that after two or three weeks, this expectation might have quelled just a little bit. Apparently, though, one would think wrong, because each morning Nokosu still struggled to remember exactly where she was and why she had such a strong sense of déjà vu.

Despite this, however, Nokosu had an almost child-like determination to stay. She liked it here. She liked the library, with its row after row of books (which she was steadily working her way through each day), she liked the dresses Chii had picked out for her (today, she wore a light pink frock with a skirt that divided into sections and spread out like the petals of a flower), she liked how Chii herself was so attentive, even though she was usually absent, and she liked Fai, with his ever-present smile and casual attitude.

Unfortunately, another thing experience had taught her to expect was that if she stayed anywhere for too long, she would be found by some people she did not wish to be found by. She could do nothing about that without leaving, but at the last she could ensure that they could not hurt Fai, Chii, or herself.

She walked around the grounds of the almost palace-like house Fai called his home. She had noticed when she first came here an abundance of rocks, particularly some smooth white stones that were perfect for the task at hand, and she scoured the ground now looking for them. When she had collected all she could find, she placed them at the front door and ran inside to find Fai. She found Chii first, though.

"Do you have any ink, and a brush?" she asked. Chii smiled.

"Certainly," she said. "Right this way."

Chii led her down the hall and into a room she hadn't noticed before (not that she noticed half the rooms there, the place was so big). It looked like a study. She opened the door of a closet to reveal stacks of paper, gallons of ink and piles of brushes, all neatly organized on their respective shelves. Nokosu grabbed one of the brushes and two or three inkwells.

"Thank you," she said, bowing slightly.

"Of course," said Chii. "May I ask what you're doing?" she started to say, but Nokosu had already disappeared. Chii shrugged, closed the doors and wandered off.

Outside, Nokosu sat down and picked up the first stone, cool and heavy in her hand. There was no one symbol for exactly what she needed, and she closed her eyes, thinking of which ones were absolutely necessary. About a dozen or so overall. She dipped her brush into the inkwell and wrote 安全 on the first one. She set it down beside her to dry and picked up the next one, which received クジラ on its surface. This continued with each stone she picked up, the pattern broken only when she went inside to get more ink.

安全な 障壁の 盾 停止

Then came her own symbols, ones that were based on feelings rather than words and didn't translate into anything.

The symbols were written over and over and over again, so that by the time she was done each one had been printed neatly at least thirty times. She set the last one down gently and then rested for a moment. Her hands were shaking. It had taken her a solid four hours to do this, and she still wasn't finished. She gathered the first twenty rocks that had finished drying, walked to the edge of the property, and started to lay them down.

"Have you seen Noko-rin today?" asked Fai.

"Earlier today, yes," said Chii, "but I don't know where she is right now."

"Oh, she's right outside," said Fai, pointing out the window to where Nokosu walked the perimeter of the grounds, placing small white stones on the grass. "I just thought you might now what she's doing, exactly."

Chii shook her head no.

"She asked for ink and a brush earlier," she offered.

"Yes, she's been writing something on the rocks all day. I wonder what."

"If you're so curious, why don't you ask her?"

"Because I'm more curious about those men coming up the hill," said Fai with a smile, pointing out the window again in a different direction. "Although I suppose they both require going outside to investigate. Shall we?"

Chii nodded. Fai hummed tunelessly and held out his hand, and his staff flew from the wall and into his grasp as he stepped outside.

"Noku-chan," he called. Nokosu looked up from her task and smiled when she saw him. As he drew closer, he could see that her hands were shaking violently. He glanced down at the stones, which so far formed the start of a perfect circle around the house, and was able to read some of them easily- safe, seal, secure, barrier, shield, stop- but the rest were indecipherable. He looked back up at Nokosu, waiting patiently for him to say something. "Why don't you take a break and come inside for a little while?"

"Oh- I'm almost done," she said.

"I know," said Fai, "but there's plenty of daylight left, and you must be hungry."

"Just let me finish," Nokosu said stubbornly. Chii separated from them as she spoke to see if she could intercept the men heading towards them. Fai drummed his fingers against his staff thoughtfully, then took hold of her hand and sent out a light pulse of magic to calm the shaking.

"You've been working very hard," he said, "and you've done a lovely job." He smiled. "That being said, I don't think it will do you any harm to rest up a bit."

Nokosu shook her head.

"I just-" she started to say, but at that moment Chii screamed, and Fai grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and threw her down. The shuriken missed his arm by inches and continued on its way to lodge itself in the side of his house. Nokosu lay on the ground, fear and shock plastered on her face. Fai planted his staff solidly in the ground, facing the men.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "What do you want?"

One of the men glared at him and stepped forward.

"My name is Michio. We have come for the witch," he said. "Step aside, and we will not hurt you."

Fai smiled.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," he said. "I thought I already explained that to your friends earlier. I was sure I made myself clear."

"Very well, then," said Michio. "You will regret that.

He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, and there was a long standoffish pause where he seemed to consider Fai almost respectively. Then the group behind him- which was made up of both men and women- tensed and suddenly leapt forward. Chii was almost knocked over by one of them.

Fai leapt easily over their heads and landed gracefully behind them.

"Come now, there must be another way we can work this out," he said to Michio, who still had not moved. Michio shook his head. "No? That's too bad." He dodged three attacks and rammed the end of his staff into the stomach of one of the women. She doubled over and fell to her knees.

Nokosu grabbed the nearest rock and scrubbed it clean, then snatched up her brush, which had fallen on the ground. She used the last bits of drying ink to scratch out 苦痛 for 'pain' and then her own symbol. The dull thud of metal on wood sounded close by, and she looked up to see Fai standing in front of her, blocking an attack that was meant for her. Fai spun around and kicked the attacker painfully in his side.

Nokosu stood up and threw the stone as far away from Fai and Chii as she could- unfortunately, since Fai had already moved away, this meant that it landed closer to herself. She closed her eyes. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.

The sound of an explosion scorched her ears, and a wave of pain rammed against her body. Most of the men and women were caught in the explosion, but Fai and Chii were left unharmed. She was sure he could take out Michio and the few others who remained on his own now.

Those were her last thoughts before she passed out.

***

~Ending with a blackout- what an obvious cliché! But I had to end it somewhere, or else it might have gone on for another dozen pages with no end in sight. I hope you'll forgive me.

I also hope you'll forgive the incessantly long single-character scenes. I know, they're pretty boring. Thing is, I'm reaching a point in my other story where I want the main character to be on his own for several chapters, so this is sort of me practicing my skills (or lack thereof). I apologize for taking it out on you, oh most awesomazing readers of mine!

Some notes I found scribbled in the margins of my paper when I woke up the morning after writing this (I stayed up pretty late to keep up with my goal of one chapter per day). Some are surprisingly coherent, while others, not surprisingly, are not…

'I just realized, Fai isn't Japanese. Kurogane is and they make a point in the story that without Mokona, they can't understand each other. Crap.'

'Penguins can't fly.'

'I imagine Michio to be similar in appearance to Old Man Foo from FMA.'

'Michio means 'man with the strength of 3,000 men'. That's pretty strong.'

'King Ashura is straight.'

'Winkin bit Chii. Why didn't she scream? That must have hurt.' (Winkin is my adorable foster puppy)

'If I start the next chapter with Nokosu waking up, that'll be the third time in a row…'

'Tie food in a basket and throw it in the river.'

'Chicken, noodles, soy sauce, brown sugar, pomegranates, sea salt, chocolate chips, red apples.'

I think that last one was a grocery list for my dinner tomorrow- er, today. I have no idea what I was planning to make and this makes me sad because it looks so gooood :( I must say, though, even the stranger ones are better than some I've seen. One time, I woke up to find an entire page with 'Alex tae kwon do secret blueberries vortex hand sanitizer peaches Korea' scribbled in large red letters with 'peaches' underlined twice. I got the sense that there was some deep meaning to this, but to this day I have no idea what I was thinking.~


	5. A New Ally

Michio stayed where he was, reviewing Fai with analytical eyes. He was all smiles, even while he fought, but underneath lay a steadfast determination Michio had to admit he admired.

The girl had taken out most of his men with her written magic. There was no such thing as cutting his losses to him, but he signaled to those still standing to stop their attacks. It was time to talk.

"I feel no strong loyalty to those who hired me," he said coolly, looking at Fai, "and at this point I feel that if we continue, we will lose."

Fai smiled.

"See? Maybe we _can_ work something out, after all."

Michio scanned the scene before him: the witch, passed out; all but three of his warriors on the ground around her; Fai still posed for a fight without the slightest sign of tiring.

"Yes," he said. "I think we can."

***

There was something wrong. No- wrong was the wrong word, Nokosu decided. _Different_ was better.

No matter where she woke up, there was always a feeling of danger- the feeling that she could not stay. The feeling came and went quickly, but it always came. Now, there was no such feeling. She felt calm and safe. It was strange to think such a feeling worried her, but it did.

She opened her eyes and looked around. It was night. The half-moon in the sky cast a rectangle of light on her floor and lit her room well enough to see by.

A small, white stone sat on her bedside table. She picked it up and examined it. 安全, the symbol for _safe._ She closed her eyes and imagined Chii sneaking in to place it there, careful not to wake her.

She stood up and saw a brush and fresh inkwell sitting on a desk across the room. She looked at the label and sighed. It was the same as what she had used earlier, which was fine for then but wouldn't work as well for now. It would do, though.

She still had to finish setting up the barrier, but Fai and Chii should be asleep by now, and she didn't want to wake them up. She pocketed the stone, then picked up the brush and dipped it in the ink. She carefully painted 沈黙 on both her arms for silence. She opened the door and quietly slipped into the hall.

The oil lamps lining the walls flickered as she walked past, throwing a dim shadow on the floor. In only a few minutes, she was outside. The stones had been lined up neatly on the ground beside where she had left off.

It only took her an hour to finish. When she dropped the last stone in place a crackle of energy ran around the length of the circle, then shot high up in the air. The barrier was done. A hint of pink came over the house as the sun began to rise, and Nokosu reviewed her handiwork with a proud smile before going back to her room.

The dark halls remained in shadow other than the pinkish light peeking through the windows, and she had to make her way back in the almost-dark. She passed a room with the door open, warm lamplight spilling across the floor. She crept past slowly, but she didn't notice something on the ground in front of her and she tripped and fell.

The silence spells on her arms and legs softened most of the noise, but she let out a tiny "Ow!" before she could stop herself. A chair scraped against the floor and footsteps advanced toward her. She scrambled up and whirled around to see Fai standing in the doorway.

"I- I was just-" she stammered, but Fai smiled.

"There's no need to sneak around," he said.

"I- I didn't want to wake you," Nokosu mumbled.

"You don't have to worry about that," Fai told her. He looked at her and smiled again. "Out of curiosity, what were you doing?"

"I was finishing the barrier," she whispered, cringing. He had told her earlier to wait to finish it, she should have listened-

Fai bent down so that he was at eye level with her and looked at her closely. Her eyes were lowered in a mixture of shame and fear. He reached out and touched her hair.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. Nokosu's shoulders tensed the moment his fingers touched her skin.

"I'm sorry."

"What in the world for?" asked Fai, laughing gently.

Nokosu bit her lip and suddenly narrowed her eyes. Her hands clenched into fists at her side.

"Never mind," she spat angrily, and ran off without another word, leaving Fai standing in the dim light with the touch of her skin still lingering on his fingertips.

***

"Forgive me for saying so, but she certainly is a strange child," commented Michio.

"It's as if she's perfectly normal one minute, then an entirely different person the next," agreed Chii. Fai smiled. He agreed completely, but he didn't say so.

"On a different subject, Michio-san, I believe you're right," he said. Michio looked at him with interest. "I've been paying closer attention, and I've noticed a vast source of almost completely untapped magic in her."

"Almost?"

"She's accessed it at least once before, but not much more than that. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of _that_ spell," he chuckled. "What I found most interesting, though, is that this magic and her _tsukura_- what you call 'written magic', Chii-kun- seem to be completely separate."

"Based on what little I know about magic," interrupted Michio, "that should be impossible. Magic can only be separated between different souls, correct?"

"Correct." Fai beamed and clapped his hands. "Good job! It _is_ quite the puzzle, though, isn't it?"

"Most definitely," said Chii. "Where is she right now?"

"In the library, reading," said Fai with a smile. "She's worked her way through half the books already." He stood up and stretched. "That reminds me, though, she asked to go down to the market today."

"You'd better take her soon, then, before she gets too wrapped up in her story," said Chii.

"Actually, she specifically said she wanted to go with you, Chii-kun."

Chii looked surprised.

"Don't worry," smiled Fai, "I can take care of it for a little while."

Michio cocked an eyebrow at this but did not question it. Fai bowed gallantly before exiting the room.

"You're welcome to stay here if you like," Chii told Michio. "I'm not sure how Nokosu-chan's barrier works, so I don't know if it will let you back in."

"I need to get back to my shuudan- my men," he explained at Chii's confused look. "If I cannot get back, I am sure we will meet again."

And then without warning, he disappeared into thin air.

***

~I apologize for my lateness! Usually I'm so excited that I post the next chapter the second I get home from school. Today, I had to type it up before I could post it, but no problem, right?

I _thought_ I was finished. I _was_ finished. But as I was typing this chapter and the next, I realized something: I never actually wrote the scene where Chii and Nokosu go to the market T.T What really sucks about this is that means I could have gone ahead with my original idea for this chapter, as explained below.

Originally, this was supposed to be a sort of revelations chapter, with a lot of things about Nokosu suddenly thrown at you in this way that would make you sit there and go 'Wait, she's WHAT? HUH? WHO? WHEN?' and maybe ask the rest of the Five W's, too. But then, for some mysterious reason, I wanted her to go to the market with Chii instead of Fai (I can't explain why this is important without ruining it, sorry). Why? Because I'm stupid, that's why.

I wanted Chii to be a background character, but I keep trying to draw her into the plot- I call this the Naming Syndrome, and I explain it on my profile :) The same thing happened with Michio, although originally he wasn't even supposed to exist past the scene where he fights Fai, and he wasn't supposed to have any sort of personality other than leader of the group. On that note, at this point, Michio is basically a carbon copy of Old Man Foo in my mind's eye.

OMG THERE IS THIS BEEPING SOMEWHERE IN MY HOUSE AND IT IS DRIVING ME **NUTS**.

Sorry. Anyways.

So starting after today, I will post new chapters every other day. I got a nice head start, but got really upset when I fell just one day behind on this chapter, and decided the stress wasn't really worth it. Thanks for keeping up with me. Those of you who have added me or my story to your faves this first week (including tomorrow), you have gone on a special list, and will receive special things no one else gets (early releases? MAYBE!).

For the rest of you, I have dug through my Drawer of Scribbled Thoughts and dug out the best ones, including a link to my blog, for those of you who are interested.

www (dot) prosperat42yo (dot) blogspot (dot) com

'I am not glad I am small. I am not glad I am small. I am not glad I am small.' (chibi of Ed from FMA crawling on his hands and knees along the margin of my paper)

Yes: IIIIII

No: IIII

(poll on whether or not they should kiss in this scene (OVERRULED))

'Corset of Doom'

'The brain you are trying to reach has been disconnected due to lack of an attention span and sleep. Please try again later when the body it belongs to has actually slept in the past 24 hours.' (at the bottom of a test I didn't finish)

'Jenny needs a zombie survival kit.' (in the only realistic fiction story I have ever written)

'My characters have too much purpose. Maybe that's the problem _'

'Dra. Lewait. A tired law.' (this was written in all caps so I thought maybe it was an anagram or whatever, but I couldn't figure it out)

Laters!~


	6. Shooting Stars

Majo screamed. She pounded her hands against the door, and when nobody answered, she dropped to her knees, sobbing. Symbols and characters covered every square inch of the six-foot cube, made doubly effective because they were written in her own blood rather than ink. She had not been given any. All she had to occupy her in the room was a water spicket, the rusted corner of which she used to cut her fingertip to write with. There was no food.

She was so tired. She pressed her forehead against the cool metal door and listened to the voices that drifted in.

"She sounds frightened."

"I'd have off and killed myself by now. She's still strong."

"Maybe we should let her out. She's so little."

"You know we can't. It's just another month. She'll be fine."

Tiny fingers curled into a tiny fist, and she placed a small palm in the center of the door. Anger bubbled up inside her. A month was a long time. She narrowed her eyes and focused, and the markings tattooed all over her body glowed crimson.

Suddenly, the door exploded off its hinges and flew across the lab room. Majo stood in the door frame, completely unharmed.

Shocked faces stood awe-struck before her. Familiar faces, friendly faces, faces that had argued with their superiors about this particular experiment on a four-year-old girl. She was too angry to care.

***

Nokosu clambered up the rocks after Fai. He had taken her through the city and into the thick of the woods, wandering seemingly aimlessly around for more than an hour.

The rocks were not steep, but Nokosu was cautious with her footing just the same, and Fai lingered close by to help her even though she sensed he could have reached the top already.

"We're almost there," he told her, eyes sparkling mischievously.

Part of the reason she was being so cautious was that she didn't want to trip and tear the dress she was wearing. It was Chii's, and not just one she had picked out for her- it was the same one she had worn when Nokosu first saw her. Chii had lent it to her that morning. Fai told her not to worry about it, but she did anyway.

They had almost reached the top, but now an eight-foot wall of rock rose up before them. Nokosu eyed it nervously. Fai grabbed the ledge and vaulted up easily, then swung his legs over the side and reached down to help her up. She all but collapsed on top of him from exhaustion.

"Turn around," he whispered, so they both did, and Nokosu gasped.

Behind them, there was no forest. An indefinitely large field stretched out before her into the horizon, the wind rippling through the grain like golden waves. The sun was huge and sat so low it made her worry the plain might catch fire. Even as she watched, it seemed to sink even lower and tint the world with a rosy glow.

"It's so pretty," she murmured. Fai laughed, obviously taking delight in her pleasure.

"It gets better," he promised her. The sun slipped quietly out of sight, turning the field first peach, then orange and red, then finally the last few inches disappeared and the forest was cast in shadow. The full moon shone an aged yellow, illuminating everything its pale light. An owl hooted somewhere in the distance, and Nokosu huddled closer to Fai. He smiled at her as if to say, _wait_. The start twinkled bright in their respective places.

Then suddenly, one of them moved.

Nokosu gasped again as more and more brief flashes of light lit up the sky and then promptly disappeared.

"What are they?" she asked. Fai laughed.

"Shooting stars," he told her. Hundreds of the things streaked in all different directions. Nokosu giggled. She had never seen them before. Even the ones that were immobile seemed to shine brighter here, away from the city lights that masked their glow. She lay down on her back to get a better view, and Fai lay down in the opposite direction, but so that their heads were right next to each other.

The moon was so close, it felt like she could reach out and touch it. She stretched out her hand to the sky, but Fai reached and took it instead. She decided she like that better and didn't pull away.

The rain of light began to thin just a little, and then slowly came to a stop. Without them to distract her, Nokosu felt the tiniest bit of fear creep back in.

Fai stood up and pressed her fingers to his lips gently, then tugged her after him as he leapt nimbly down the rocks toward the field. Nokosu followed, letting a sort of weightlessness settle heavily on her shoulders.

She ran her free hand over the stalks of wheat, shivered when the wind blew across the plain, smiled and laughed when Fai twirled her around and then bowed deeply like they were dancing. He held out his other hand for her to take, and she carefully removed his white glove before she laced her fingers with his. His skin was soft and cool against her own, but he let go and placed it on the small of her back instead, drawing her just a bit closer. Nokosu looked up at him. He had such beautiful eyes, she thought. When he smiled, they shone so bright to put the sun to shame.

She was happy here, she realized. She had never really been happy before. That might be reason enough to stay.

***

~HA! You think that's the end, don't you? Well, you're wrong! There's plenty more where that's coming from ~cackles evilly~

Some of you have said that my story is 'heart-warming', 'sweet', etc., etc. I hope that's not the only reason you read it, because (SPOILER ALERT!) it's about to get a whole lot nastier. ~evil laughter emanates from closet~ (yells over shoulder) I TOLD YOU, JUST THREE MORE CHAPTERS! YOU CAN WAIT!!!

I'm pretty tired, so I only deemed three of my Scribbled Thoughts worthy of being typed up this time. I might include the rest next time.

'Even though he's 50% straight, Fai only does subtext.' (This one frustrates me. It's like it WANTS to make sense, but it just can't!)

'Fai: Good morning, Kurogane-san.

Kurogane: DON'T CALL ME- wait…'

(I just finished Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations, and this is my humorous take on the 'good morning, Kurogane' scene. I even drew chibis to go with it, but they failed)

'**I WANT MAH KUROFAI!!!**' (self-explanatory)

Next chapter will blow your minds, promise!!! … unless, of course, I get lazy and decide to cut it off before the big reveal :) ~


	7. Girl Power!

Fai stood up quietly and brushed himself off, careful not to wake Nokosu. She lay peacefully on the ground, sleeping deeply, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. He bent down and gently wiped away a smudge of dirt on her cheek.

He was tempted to wake her for the sunrise, but she was tired, and there would be others, he decided. He smiled to himself and sat back down. Nokosu shifted in her sleep, missing the warmth of his body next to hers. He took off his jacket and lay it on top of her, and she settled back down.

After a while, Fai grew tired of sitting in one place, and he stood up again, stretching. He strolled through the field, dead leaves crunching noisily under his feet.

Only a few crimson drops slid down his neck when the blade was pressed against his throat. A small cut. He could tell who the sword belonged to without even turning around.

"Hello, Ashura-ou," he said, smiling brightly. He heard Ashura's grip tighten on the handle, but then the blade swung back. Fai quickly stepped away and turned to face him, never once letting the grin falter. Ashura glared at him with narrowed eyes.

"Aren't you the smart one?" he hissed. "Taking the girl away before I even reached the city."

Fai tilted his head to the side.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me. Remember I raised you," sneered Ashura.

"Very well, then," Fai sighed, and in a second, he dropped the smile, the playful, oblivious glint in his eye, the lilt in his voice. He met Ashura's eyes darkly. "So they're all dead? Everyone?"

"You were expecting me," was his only reply. "You set up a barrier around your house. Why not the whole town, _Yui?"_

Fai sighed again, ignoring the name. "I'm afraid that was Nokosu-chan's doing. I've never been too adept at _tsukuru_. She's surprisingly powerful."

"Precisely." Ashura leveled his sword at Fai. "If I wish to gain any more power… I have to kill her."

Fai couldn't help it. He smiled. It was so natural for him to do so when facing an opponent. "I can't let you do that."

"Then you have a choice, Yui. You can either kill me… or your little pet," he spat, nodding pointedly at Nokosu's sleeping body. Fai extended his hand parallel to his body, as if trying to block her from his view.

"You never answered my question," he said quietly. "Did you really kill everyone?"

Ashura considered this for a long time.

"Yes," he finally said.

That was all Fai needed to hear.

…………

Majo walked away from the bloody mess without looking back- not that she knew it was a bloody mess, because she was pointedly Not Looking at it. There were tears on her face, but she couldn't remember why. In fact, when she thought about it, she was still crying.

She was used to the black-outs, the memory loss, and the strange cuts and bruises that invariably followed. She was still getting used to the sudden absence of people, the lack of presence that she felt pressing in on her for days afterward.

She didn't look down, not even when she tripped over Daisuke's bloody body. She knew from experience that if she looked down, she would scream. So she emerged from the wreckage that had once been an inn with a few cuts and bruises, a few holes in her memory, and a few more lives that existed only in her mind. Nothing she hadn't experienced before in the seven years of her life.

Even so, there was a tiny part of her, gagged and chained in the furthest back corner of her mind, buried so deep it couldn't breathe, screaming that it was all her fault.

…………..

Nokosu wasn't actually asleep, Fai noted. She must have been awake for quite some time now, because even though she sat stock-still in the grass, she watched the battle with wide eyes that were not the least bit tired.

Then again, fear could do the same thing, thought Fai as he dodged another sphere of fire. _He_ certainly wasn't about to lie down and take a nap.

The problem with fighting someone like Ashura- actually, fighting _just_ Ashura- was that he knew all of Fai's moves and then some. He flipped over an explosion of ice, but of course Ashura expected that and he was met with a wall of fire. There was nothing to do but bring his staff up and block the heat magically with a shield. He touched down and leaned heavily on the golden staff, breathing raggedly. Magic like that drained him of energy quickly, and he hadn't even gotten in a hit for his trouble. But he smiled at Ashura just the same.

"You were never much for fair fights, were you?" he said. This was a fact; it wasn't meant to be a barb. "I don't suppose I should be surprised any more. But she's just a little girl, Ashura-ou. Do you really want to die so badly that you'd kill a defenseless child?"

"Defenseless?" Ashura repeated. "If you still think that, then you're even weaker than I though. Surely you've sensed her power."

"I was hoping you hadn't."

Ashura scowled, then made it very clear he was done talking by creating an explosion of flame and ice that knocked Fai off his feet. He flew back and slammed roughly into the ground, bleeding and burnt. He struggled to hold on to the last tendrils of consciousness, and he used them and his remaining energy to erect a barrier that would protect Nokosu, then gladly succumbed to the powers of sleep.

…………………..

Nokosu lay Fai's head on her lap and checked to make sure his chest still rose and fell. The shards of ice had left him covered in small cuts from head to toe, and his arms, especially, were badly burnt. His shirt was so badly torn she was surprised it hadn't fallen off.

She looked up at the sparkling barrier around her. Ashura glared at her from the other side- it was too strong for him to break right now, but she sensed that he would wait for weeks, if it took that long.

"You… hurt Fai…" she whispered. Ashura scowled at her.

"He's not ready yet," he spat. He did not clarify what Fai was supposed to be ready for, but it wouldn't have made a difference if he had. Once even the tiniest hint of anger flitted through Nokosu's mind, it would hit the ground rolling and wouldn't stop.

She was careful enough to lay Fai's body gently on the ground, but once she stood up her hands balled into fists, nails digging so deep into her palms that they drew blood. Something underneath her skin began to burn, as if it were itching to be let out.

She wasn't sure, but something that might have been a smug smile flickered briefly across Ashura's face. She glowered. How _dare_ he mock her? Her eyes suddenly changed from the sparkling blue Fai so admired to a dark red, and her skin shone bright with tattoos of the same color.

The barrier shattered.

Ashura stood before her. He raised his sword parallel to the ground, pale white magical energy swirling around it. There was a glint of malice in his eyes- but it was nothing compared to what Majo was capable of.

The wind, which before had been still, whipped up suddenly and whistled through the trees with such velocity that it cut Ashura's cloak to ribbons, leaving Majo untouched. Ashura's magic hung on stubbornly at first, then slowly dissipated. He grit his teeth and raised an arm to shield his face. This girl was far more powerful than he had even begun to imagine.

Tendrils of dark energy began to swirl around Nokosu's entire body, faster and faster until they formed an impenetrable sphere around her. Ashura braced himself for he knew not what.

He never found out, either, because when he woke up, miles away, covered in blood and bruises, body aching and screaming with the sharp sting of broken bones, he could not remember a thing.

……………..

~I desperately did not want to end with another black out, so I ended with him waking up from one instead O.o

The reason he couldn't remember anything is because I was too lazy to figure out what Nokosu/Majo actually did to him.

As you may have noticed, I switched from calling her 'Nokosu' to calling her 'Majo' suddenly. I'm not going to tell you why because I want to see if you can figure it out on your own, or if this is just me being strange and I need to explain that better. Please let me know if you understand, you don't entirely get it but you think you will in the near future (this is the reaction I want), or you understand perfectly.

Scribbled thoughts!

'If I really wanted to, I could end the whole story right here… It would be easier, but I guess I won't…'

'porcelain' (…)

'Fai only does subtext!' (AGAIN?!?)

'They slept together. But only literally.' (Oh, good. I was getting worried. Thank you, half-conscious self)

'I don't even know if Ashura-ou uses a sword. I fail.' (I do. Badly)

'Ashura-ou is such a naughty boy, killing all those villagers. Fai should punish him 3' (… I just want to say that I only support Fai X Ashura a little bit, barely at all. I'm a huge fan of KuroFai, though :P)

'OMG THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE USED 'GRIN' IN THIS STORY O.o' (this is true. I always say 'smile')

'I've never done a magical fight before. I hope I can pull it off.' (Did I do okay? I think I kind of got lazy and didn't actually make the fighting as long as I wanted)

(epic chibi panel which I will upload to my blog, www(dot)prosperat42yo(dot)blogspot(dot)com)

(another epic chibi panel which I will also upload to my blog)

'I think I shall be lazy and not even write the Ashura-ou v. Fai scene.' (I think I did)

'I want my KuroFai… 3 but no computer + access denied at school = NO HAPPINESS!!!' (I'm so glad I'm un-grounded)

'Hrmmm I want Kurogane to randomly pop up and save the day, like in Missy-chama's story… except it'd prolly turn into a KuroFai 3 Maybe I'll just use Michio…' (check out coolmissy11d12)

'I am 305 years old.' (… I'm starting to have some serious doubts about the sanity of my half-asleep self)

'Wait a minute… Ashura-ou put the seal on Fai! BUT I WANT NOKOSU TO DO IT!!! _ blergh.'

'I am doodling on this side cuz I ran out of room on the other side already.' (I think I spent more time scribbling my thoughts than I did actually writing.'

'OMG I HAS BLUE EYES LIKE FAI!!!~ O.o'

'Now I know why writers give their attacks names- it's so they don't have to say 'magic' and 'energy' over and over again.'

'Conversation w/ my bff Jetty:

JETTY: Whatcha doin?

ME: Makin' brownies in my kitchen.~

JETTY: Oh. Where are you?

ME: …

JETTY: Hello?

ME: I'm right outside your window, betch.'

'NINJAS. I am not one of them :(' (but my BFF Trey is!)

Hrmmm… that is all, I believe. Laters!~


	8. Ashura

The guards had enough intelligence to move out of the way and keep silent as Ashura walked back to his quarters. He appeared calm- annoyed, but calm- but the soldiers knew full well that their king did not take kindly to losing. There was only one person he would allow himself to lose to, and that person was not ready yet.

"Yui," Ashura muttered under his breath as he closed the door behind him, and he frowned. The idiot boy was too cowardly to make a choice between one life and another. "I've taught you better than that," he hissed.

He sat down heavily on the bed and pressed his fingers to his temples. The blonde-haired boy had been raised with one purpose, had been given precisely one goal to reach, yet even after years of patient waiting, still failed to accomplish his task. He struggled against Ashura at every turn, going out of his way to prolong what they both knew was inevitable.

On second thought, Ashura had taught him that, too.

He stood up, ignoring this fact, and shrugged off his tattered cloak. He peeled away the blood-soaked clothes, re-opening wounds that had healed tentatively around the cloth, and sucked in a breath as a sharp pang shot through his broken shoulder. He clutched at the place where it had fractured, gasping for breath.

_That girl… she is incredible,_ he though as the pain slowly ebbed away. Whatever she had done, it had left him completely unable to heal his wounds magically. Killing her would surely increase his power above that of Yui's.

He shoved all thoughts of Yui and killing to the back of his mind and instead focused on bandaging his shoulder. It was a difficult task to complete on his own, particularly with his arm throbbing every time he lifted it to wrap the gauze around. When he finished, he leaned back against the wall and allowed himself to close his eyes and rest for a few moments.

Rain pelted against his skin, so hot he wondered why it didn't burn. No, not rain- he was in the shower. His hands shook. There was more blood on them now than they had before. Not his own. He must have killed someone else, then. A guard, perhaps. He hoped it was a guard; he hated it when the servants and maids, who could not even defend themselves, ended up dead.

The past week was riddled with so many holes that he found more blanks than actual memories. He sifted through them carefully, searching for any clues to what he had done.

Heat, and the thick smell of smoke. Screaming and wailing and running footsteps. And seeing Yui, of course. He remembered that clearly.

Had he really burned down an entire village? All those people… He raised a hand to cover his face and realized he was sure if his cheeks were wet because of the water or because he was crying. No, of course it was the former. Kings did not cry. Ashura let the rest of the blood wash away, then shut the water off and walked back to his chambers.

A thin, pale figure was strewn across the bed, chest bloodied, dress torn. Her once-vibrant green eyes were open. He knew her. Her name was Sandra; she was one of the maids. Ashura looked away. After taking a few moments to compose himself, he called in another servant to remove her body.

He looked up at the stars, winking down at him from a safe distance. He was in the courtyard, alone. There was even more blood splattered across his shirt. He clutched at his head angrily.

"Just for one day," he hissed into the cool night air, "can't I be left in peace?"

But the answer was no, as it always was. Ashura sank to his knees. Yui was to blame for this. He could have ended it all years ago, but the boy hung on stubbornly to some childish hope that everything would solve itself. The idiot didn't seem to understand how simple it would be to prevent everything.

He had to kill the girl. It was the only way to force Yui to accept his role, and the only way Ashura could gain enough power quickly enough. An entire country of commoners didn't amount to half the power she would give him.

At least that was something both sides of him could agree on.

~I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I really didn't have much else to say. _

WHAT? No scribbled thoughts, you say? I apologize; my friend Rena-nee complained about how messy my papers were getting, so I've been taking extra care to make sure they're neat.

That's all. Laters! :) ~


	9. Melissa

Melissa rushed through the forest, long black hair streaming behind her, as quick on her feet as the enchanted grounds allowed her to be. The trees around her all shifted as she moved past. Some simply grew buds and flowered into lilies and roses (lilies- apparently they grew on trees here. How strange, she thought), while others stretched out in an attempt to trip her. She didn't let them, though.

She had a job to do. She wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but that hardly mattered. This was the price she paid for traveling from world to world in the manner she did.

The forest ended abruptly and she paused at its outskirts. Before her stretched an indefinitely large field of wheat, and she knew not what lay inside. More magical surprises, maybe? Only one way to find out.

"What is my task here?" she whispered out loud, running her hand over the tips of the stalks. Of course there was no answer. She would have been rather shocked if she had relieved one. She slowed down to a walk; there didn't seem to be any dangerous magic here (this was an assumption she had made many times before, and so far it hadn't gotten her killed).

A wall of dirt rose up to meet her when she tripped and fell over the uneven grounds. She quickly jumped up and brushed herself off, little bruised but for her ego. At least no one had seen; she was normally so agile. But as she stood, something just ahead caught her eye- a girl kneeling over something on the ground. The light purple dress she wore was pretty, but torn, and as Melissa drew closer she saw that she was straddling the body of a young man with blonde hair. Melissa almost backed away instinctively, until she saw that they were both so battered it looked like the girl was about to pass out- apparently, the man already had.

The girl was writing something in a crimson liquid on his chest, and it took Melissa only a few seconds to realize it was blood.

The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then reached for a knife by her side. She pressed it gently to her wrist. Her eyes fluttered halfway open, then closed again. Without warning, her entire body slumped over and she collapsed on her side.

***

A beautiful, warm fire crackled nearby, its source unknown. Nokosu furrowed her brow, and the brief thought came to pass that if the field had caught fire, she was too tired to do anything about it. Her next thought might have been to let Fai deal with it, but at the moment her head ached so horribly that she abandoned all thoughts and let the matter (and herself) rest.

Melissa sat by the fire, staring coolly into the flames and whittling the fourth stick in as many hours. She was tired of this world already. If they didn't wake up in half an hour, she determined, then she would leave for the next world, Yuko and her tasks be (censored).

The blonde murmured something and shifted in his sleep, then winced as some of his unhealed wounds rubbed against each other. Suddenly he screamed and shot upright, gasping for breath. The girl winced at the noise from across the clearing (_she lost so much blood_, Melissa thought. _She won't be up for another few hours. How could I have even thought about leaving her here?)._ He clutched his head for a few moments, then looked around frantically, panting.

"She's alright," said Melissa. "Lost a lot of blood, but she'll be fine." The man looked at her and after a few seconds understanding registered on his face. His body relaxed slightly. "My name's Melissa," she said coolly. "And you are?"

All of this was said while she looked him directly in the eyes and continued to cut away at her stick. He watched the rhythmic movement of her hands for a long time. A small smiled tugged at the corner of his lips now that he had calmed down.

"Fai," he said softly. He touched his hand to his face and stared curiously at the warm red fluid smeared on his cheek and, now, his fingers.

"Not enough water to wash you off," Melissa explained, shaking her nearly-empty canteen to prove her point. "Besides, it looked deliberate."

Fai looked down at his chest. It was hard to read upside-down, but it looked like the dominating character was _heal._ The hundreds of other symbols- which covered every inch of his skin that wasn't already occupied wit wounds, including his arms and hands- were entirely undecipherable. He glanced across at Nokosu's pale frame, her limp body beaded with sweat. She seemed weaker, diminished somehow, not just physically, but…

Her magic was almost nonexistent, he realized with a start. Her ability to use the _tsukura_ had all but disappeared. This should have been impossible- _tsukura_ was one of the few magics based purely on natural talent, and did not grow or lessen with use.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about the town nearby, would you?"

"The town?" repeated Fai innocently.

"Yeah. It's just a few miles from here. You really haven't heard anything?"

Fai shook his head, not trusting his lips to keep the lie suppressed.

"It was burned to the ground for no apparent reason- by the king himself, no less. I think most of the villagers escaped, but there were definitely a few fresh graves in the hills surrounding it." She met his eyes steadily. "But there's no need to lie amongst killers and thieves. We'd be caught ourselves if we tried to turn you in, am I right? By the way, I'm operating under the assumption that the dark-haired man about ten yards behind you is your friend."

The first man Fai thought of would have killed them already if he was really there.

"Michio-san," he said instead, and the ninja was standing right next to him suddenly.

"That girl," he said simply, "is quite amazing."

"Thank you," said Melissa.

Michio said nothing, changed nothing about his expression yet made it quite clear he had not meant her, and in fact felt a great deal of contempt that she would have the arrogance to imply he was talking about her. He frowned, which, strangely, somehow indicated her conceitedness had been forgiven for now, and sat down next to Fai.

Melissa gave no sign that she particularly cared about his (admittedly impressive) ability to silently and emotionlessly convey his exact opinion.

"I'm leaving her in your hands," Melissa said suddenly, nodding at Nokosu. With a wave of her arm, Melissa opened up a portal- what looked like a doorway made of swirling, multi-colored energy. Even Fai was surprised. Terrified screams floated in from the other side, and Melissa jumped back. "Oh, my," she said. "That doesn't sound good at all." She drew a long sword from its sheath at her hip. "Always good to be prepared. And optimistic. Think positive. Maybe they'll have water there."

With that, she stepped through the portal and it closed behind her, plunging the forest into silence (except for the crackling of he fire), leaving one blood-soaked Fai, one blood-drained Nokosu, and one slightly disinterested (but still mostly interested) Michio completely alone in the empty forest, keeping company to their fellow killers and liars and thieves.

But not necessarily in that order, of course.

***

~ I promise I'm not sucking up, Missy-tan!!!

This character already existed. Allow me to explain…

You see, I have this awesome character. Already named Melissa. But she has no background, no foils or friends, and no story to go with. I couldn't think of a story cool enough to match her awesomeness. Also, just one story wouldn't have been enough. She deserved so much more. So… I put her in EVERY story.

She pops up randomly in every fanfiction, short story, and novel-in-progress I have ever written. Usually her role is slightly more random, but in this case she fit in well as a slightly-more-essential-than-average character. Also, this is the first time I ever explained how she jumps from one story to the next. I'm not sure if I'll carry this explanation over to other stories. I might get sued, I dunno.

And to those of you who think that's cool… BACK OFF! MY IDEA! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT, JERKS!!!

JK, of course. I'd be totally flattered if someone was inspired by my ideas. ;)

So, as always, I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter, I hope you'll eagerly await the next chapter and enjoy that as well… and have a wonderful day, all! ~


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